Ebola Cases Spike in DR Congo, Daily Rate Doubled Since September

Ebola Cases Spike in DR Congo, Daily Rate Doubled Since September

Ebola Cases Spike in DR Congo, Daily Rate Doubled Since September

Kinshasa, Oct 12 (Prensa Latina) The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is alarmed by the 33 new cases of Ebola reported since October 1, compared to 41 in all of September in DR Congo.

The rate of new cases of Ebola has doubled so far in October compared to the entire previous month, when aid was briefly suspended in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to insurgent violence, health officials reported.

According to these sources, most of these new cases occurred in Beni, where experts had to suspend work for several days to contain Ebola after a rebel attack.

In that context, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 19 health workers who contracted Ebola during this outbreak were infected outside hospitals or clinics, meaning Ebola is spreading in the community.

The WHO considered as very high the danger of the spread of the disease in the eastern part of the DRC and pointed out that North Kivu and Ituri, affected Congolese provinces, are on the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

For their part, health officials said they are practically working in a war zone because the activities of various armed groups persist in that region.

This is a sign not only that the outbreak is out of control, but also that without the full participation of the community things could get worse,' said Michelle Gayer, IRC's Director of Health Emergencies.

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Ebola Cases Spike in DR Congo, Daily Rate Doubled Since September

Kinshasa, Oct 12 (Prensa Latina) The International Rescue Committee (IRC) is alarmed by the 33 new cases of Ebola reported since October 1, compared to 41 in all of September in DR Congo.

The rate of new cases of Ebola has doubled so far in October compared to the entire previous month, when aid was briefly suspended in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to insurgent violence, health officials reported.

According to these sources, most of these new cases occurred in Beni, where experts had to suspend work for several days to contain Ebola after a rebel attack.

In that context, the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 19 health workers who contracted Ebola during this outbreak were infected outside hospitals or clinics, meaning Ebola is spreading in the community.

The WHO considered as very high the danger of the spread of the disease in the eastern part of the DRC and pointed out that North Kivu and Ituri, affected Congolese provinces, are on the border with Uganda and Rwanda.

For their part, health officials said they are practically working in a war zone because the activities of various armed groups persist in that region.

This is a sign not only that the outbreak is out of control, but also that without the full participation of the community things could get worse,' said Michelle Gayer, IRC's Director of Health Emergencies.